PRESS RELEASE 
 
PRESS/TPRB/327 
26 March 2010 
 
(10-1681) 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: CROATIA 
Reform programme has borne fr uit but needs to continue 
Since independence in 1991, Croatia has been implementing an ambitious reform programme 
based on the gradual opening of trade and invest ment, driven by commitments taken during its 
WTO accession negotiations and preparations for its key strategic goal of acceding to the European Union, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of Croatia. 
 
High real GDP growth, relatively low inflation, and a declining fiscal deficit are some of the fruits of 
the programme, the report says. Nonetheless, there was a big contraction in economic activity in 
2009 due to the global economic downturn, and Croatia still faces key problems, notably external 
vulnerability due to its high external current account deficit and large stock of external debt.   
The report also indicates that important reforms have taken place in the trade and investment 
area since Croatia acceded to the WTO in 2000, including updating almost all its trade-related legislation with the objective of bringing it into line with the EU’s trade policy and internal market 
rules, and reducing its simple average MFN tariff from 12.1% in 2000 to 7.1% in 2009.  
 The report makes clear, nevertheless, that continua tion of its structural reforms, such as further 
improving its business environment, will be key to  strengthening Croatia’s resilience to shocks, 
sustaining growth, attracting investment, and improving productivity.  
The report, along with a policy statement by the Go vernment of Croatia, wa s the basis for the first 
Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Croatia by the Trad e Policy Review Body of the WTO on 24 and 26 
March 2010. 
 
The following documents are available in MS Wo rd format on the WTO web-site. They can be 
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/ tratop_e/tpr_e/tp327_e.htm  
• Secretariat reports 
> Contents and summary observations  > Economic environment  
> Trade and investment regimes  
> Trade policies and practices by measure  > Trade policies by sector  
> Appendix tables  
• Report by the Government of Croatia  
• Chairperson’s concluding remarks  
• Minutes of the meeting (available appr oximately six weeks after the meeting). PRESS/TPRB/327 
Page 2 of 2 
 
 
 Note 
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO Agreement, in which member countries” trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant 
developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. For each 
review, two documents are prepared: a policy stat ement by the government of the member under 
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents are then discussed by the WTO”s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). These 
documents and the proceedings of the TPRB”s meetings are published shortly afterwards.  
 Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William 
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at 
http://onlinebookshop.wto.org/shop/articles.asp?Id_Rayon=38
 
or follow this path :  
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews  
 The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan  
Press, 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706-4346, United  
States. Please call 1-800-865-3457 or e-mail: customercare@bernan.com.” 
Next reviews: 
Armenia: 6 and 8 April 2010 
Albania: 28 and 30 April 2010 
China: 10 and 12 May 2010 
 
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to 
http://www.wto.org/english/trat op_e/tpr_e/tpr_ e.htm#reviews 
or follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews 
  
 
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